In Memoriam Gershom Levy (1937–2009) Dr. Gershom Levy passed

In Memoriam Gershom Levy (1937–2009) Dr. Gershom Levy passed

Photo: D. Simon
ISRAEL JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, Vol. 38, 2008, pp. 133–142
In Memoriam
Gershom Levy (1937–2009)
Dr. Gershom Levy passed away on 21 March, 2009, and his life’s work on the arachnofauna of the Land of Israel came to an untimely end. Gershom was born in Tel Aviv in
1937, but from 1943 on he lived in Jerusalem. He matriculated from The Hebrew University High School in 1955, and in 1964 he received his M.Sc. in biological sciences
from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializing in zoology, chemistry, and parasitology. For several years Gershom was an instructor in the Entomology Department of
The Hebrew University, and in 1969 he earned his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University.
Gershom’s career in arachnology began with his M.Sc. with A. Shulov. Shulov suggested that he undertake a revision of the Solifugae (camel-spiders or sun-spiders) of
Israel. This was a very ambitious project. Later Gershom remarked, in a typically honest
appraisal, that this was too large a task for a young and inexperienced taxonomist, and
much work remained. Gershom’s Ph.D. research was on the biology and systematics of
the crab-spider family (Thomisidae) of Israel and adjacent areas. One of the most cited
of his early papers is on the life history of Thomisus onustus and a general classification
of life-history patterns.
In 1970, after he began work on the scorpions of Israel, Gershom received a travel
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grant to study the scorpion collections at the natural history museums of Paris and
London, and in particular to visit Professor M. Vachon, a leading scorpion taxonomist
in Paris. During 1971 Gershom was a Research Associate at the Agassiz Museum of
Comparative Zoology at Harvard University with Professor Herbert Levi, the doyen of
American arachnology. After returning to Israel, Gershom taught several courses at The
Hebrew University, including arachnology, entomology, general biology, and faunistics;
and ecology and evolution at Ben-Gurion University.
From 1978 until 1996, when he took early retirement, Gershom was curator of the
National Arachnid Collection at The Hebrew University. After retiring officially, however, he continued to curate the collections and received grants for taxonomic work on
the arachnofauna of Israel, and continued his research even when no grant money was
available. Gershom was determined to pursue his taxonomic work on the arachnofauna
of the Middle East, and put this goal ahead of academic advancement. In doing so, he
demonstrated a determination and dedication to a cause that is rare in scientists today.
The arachnid collection at the Hebrew University was his “baby”. Gershom added
many specimens from Israel and neighboring areas and improved and maintained the
collection single-handed. As a consequence of his curatorial activities, the National
Arachnid Collection at The Hebrew University has become an invaluable resource for
researchers in the region and around the world. He generously identified arachnids for
students and researchers, and numerous ecological projects in Israel owe their spider and
scorpion identifications to Gershom and to the fine collection he built. The collection
also served regional and worldwide revisions of spider families by other taxonomists,
e.g., Oonopidae (M. Saaristo, Finland), Salticidae (J. Proszynski, Poland), and Dysderidae (under revision by M. Rezac, Czech Republic).
Gershom’s career was devoted to studying the families of solifugids, scorpions, and
spiders of Israel and the neighboring areas, but his taxonomic work had a wider regional
importance. His treatise on the scorpions of Israel in the Fauna Palaestina series remains the authoritative work for the region. Recently, Gershom received the fragments
of a troglobitic scorpion found in sealed caves of the Judean foothills and after much
delicate work and careful study he found it necessary to describe it as a member of an
entirely new family of scorpions, aptly named Akravidae (akrav = scorpion, in Hebrew).
Taxonomic studies of solifugids (five publications), scorpions (six publications), and
spiders (38 publications) appeared with regularity over the span of some 45 years. His
most recent paper, published posthumously, is the conclusion of many years of work on
the gnaphosid spiders and includes a checklist of the 126 known species of the region.
Over the years, Gershom described five new solifugid species, seven new scorpion
species (including two new genera and a new family), and 126 new species and five new
genera of spiders from the region. He did not particularly enjoy describing new species,
and was happiest when he could revise genera and families, such that synonymies were
clarified and all the previous material relevant to the group could be neatly organized
with good keys to the species in the region. He referred to this process as “cleaning up the
field”, and the solving of such taxonomic puzzles provided a stimulating and satisfying
intellectual activity. The resulting keys and revisions are invaluable for taxonomists and
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IN MEMORIAM — GERSHOM LEVY
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ecologists alike. They are excellent in the quality of both text and illustrations. Although
Gershom modestly claimed to be “unable to draw animals”, his drawings of complex
spider genitalia, eye arrangements, and other anatomical features were executed with the
greatest attention to detail and accuracy and are truly beautiful works of art.
Gershom Levy’s taxonomic works on the arachnofauna of this region are a legacy
for future generations of researchers. He received international recognition for his work:
seven species were named in his honor. His publications appear in many of the leading journals of systematic biology, and in 1998 a special issue of the Israel Journal of
Zoology was dedicated to him on the occasion of his retirement. Gershom did not attend
meetings of professional societies but he maintained an active scientific correspondence
with leading arachnologists world-wide. Nevertheless, he was always modest about his
work and remained loyal to his aim to describe and to document the regional fauna.
To encourage interest in the local fauna among Israeli students and researchers, Gershom published many papers in the Israel Journal of Zoology and three monographs in
the Fauna Palaestina series (Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities). He edited the
volume on terrestrial invertebrates for the Encyclopedia of the Fauna and Flora of Israel
(in Hebrew) and wrote the sections on myriapods and arachnids. Gershom was also a
member of the Israel Academy’s language committee, which provided Hebrew names
of arthropods and was responsible for the Hebrew names of the arachnid orders and of
many common species of arachnids and insects. Gershom was delighted when he could
share his knowledge and experience, and his hope was that someone would continue
taxonomic research on arachnids in Israel.
Gershom devoted much time to his family. He was also an avid reader of a wide range
of subjects, but especially history, archeology, and art. He was an amateur philatelist, and
several arachnologist colleagues supplied him with stamps from various countries. With
his family, he traveled to national parks and archeological sites on all five continents.
Gershom is survived by his wife Rina, their three children and six grandchildren.
Yael Lubin1 and Efrat Gavish-Regev2
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 84990, Israel
E-mail: [email protected]
2
Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Israel
E-mail: [email protected]
1
Gershom Levy: New Species, Genera, and a Family
Scorpiones
Family Akravidae Levy 2007
Akrav Levy 2007
Akrav israchanani Levy 2007
Family Buthidae
Compsobuthus arabicus Levy, Amitai and Shulov, 1973
Cosmobuthus carmelitis Levy, Amitai and Shulov, 1973
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Compsobuthus jordanensis Levy, Amitai and Shulov, 1973
Cosmobuthus longipalpis Levy, Amitai and Shulov, 1973
Buthacus nigroaculeatus Levy, Amitai and Shulov, 1973
Vachoniolus Levy, Amitai and Shulov, 1973
Vachoniolus globimanus Levy, Amitai and Shulov, 1973
Solifugae
Family Daesiidae
Blossia albocaudata Levy and Shulov, 1964
Blossia omeri (Levy and Shulov, 1964)
Gluviopsona lahavi Levy and Shulov, 1964
Family Galeodidae
Othoes rimmonensis Panouse, Levy and Shulov, 1967
Gylippus (Gylippus) yerohami Levy and Shulov, 1964
Araneae
Family Agelenidae
Agelescape Levy, 1996
Agelescape gideoni Levy, 1996
Maimuna carmelica Levy, 1996
Maimuna meronis Levy, 1996
Malthonica epacris (Levy, 1996)
Malthonica mediterranea (Levy, 1996)
Tegenaria angustipalpis Levy, 1996
Family Araneidae
Cyclosa deserticola Levy, 1998
Neoscona lotan Levy, 2007
Neoscona sodom Levy, 1998
Singa ammophila Levy, 2007
Zygiella poriensis Levy, 1987
Family Cybaeidae
Cedicus israeliensis Levy, 1996
Paracedicus baram Levy, 2007
Paracedicus geshur Levy, 2007
Family Gnaphosidae
Anagraphis pori Levy, 1999
Berlandina avishur Levy, 2009
Drassyllus adullam Levy, 2009
Drassyllus jubatopalpis Levy, 1998
Haplodrassus atarot Levy, 2004
Haplodrassus lilliputanus Levy, 2004
Haplodrassus mediterraneus Levy, 2004
Heser aradensis (Levy, 1998)
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IN MEMORIAM — GERSHOM LEVY
Leptopilos Levy, 2009
Leptopilos levantinus Levy, 2009
Leptopilos lakhish Levy, 2009
Megamyrmaekion hula Levy, 2009
Megamyrmaekion magshimim Levy, 2009
Micaria galilaea Levy, 2009
Minosia simeonica Levy, 1995
Nomisia negebensis Levy, 1995
Odontodrassus aravaensis Levy, 1999
Phaeocedus hebraeus Levy, 1999
Phaeocedus mikha Levy, 2009
Poecilochroa golan Levy, 1999
Poecilochroa taborensis Levy, 1999
Pterotricha engediensis Levy, 1995
Pterotricha levantina Levy, 1995
Pterotricha parasyriaca Levy, 1995
Setaphis mediterranea Levy, 2009
Talanitoides Levy, 2009
Talanitoides habesor Levy, 2009
Trachyzelotes miniglossus Levy, 2009
Zelotes adderet Levy, 2009
Zelotes baram Levy, 2009
Zelotes bashaneus Levy, 1998
Zelotes bokerensis Levy, 1998
Zelotes eremus Levy, 1998
Zelotes galuni Levy, 1998
Zelotes geshur Levy, 2009
Zelotes golanensis Levy, 2009
Zelotes haifaensis Levy, 2009
Zelotes harmeron Levy, 2009
Zelotes helvoloides Levy, 1998
Zelotes hierosolymitanus Levy, 1998
Zelotes incisupalpis Levy, 1998
Zelotes lehavim Levy, 2009
Zelotes meronensis Levy, 1998
Zelotes naphthalii Levy, 2009
Zelotes paradderet Levy, 2009
Zelotes parascrutatus Levy, 1998
Zelotes shaked Levy, 1998
Zelotes olstitialis Levy, 1998
Zelotes sumchi Levy, 1998
Zelotes xerophilus Levy, 1998
Zelotes zekharya Levy, 2009
Zelotes zin Levy, 1998
Family Hahniidae
Hahnia carmelita Levy, 2007
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Family Oxyopidae
Oxyopes elifaz Levy, 2007
Oxyopes mediterraneus Levy, 1999
Oxyopes nanulineatus Levy, 1999
Oxyopes sinaiticus Levy, 1999
Family Philodromidae
Ebo eremus Levy, 1999
Ebo halophilus Levy, 1977
Ebo patellidens Levy, 1977
Philodromus denisi Levy, 1977
Philodromus hierosolymitanus Levy, 1977
Philodromus kalliaensis Levy, 1977
Philodromus latrophagus Levy, 1999
Philodromus pygmaeus Levy, 1977
Philodromus sinaiticus Levy, 1977
Thanatus meronensis Levy, 1977
Thanatus sepiacolor Levy, 1999
Family Sparassidae
Cerbalus aravaensis Levy, 2007
Cerbalus negebensis Levy, 1989
Cerbalus psammodes Levy, 1989
Family Theridiidae
Crustulina hermonensis Levy and Amitai, 1979
Dipoena galilaea Levy and Amitai, 1981
Enoplognatha deserta Levy and Amitai, 1981
Enoplognatha giladensis (Levy and Amitai, 1982)
Enoplognatha macrochelis Levy and Amitai, 1981
Enoplognatha mediterranea Levy and Amitai, 1981
Enoplognatha parathoracica Levy and Amitai, 1981
Episinus fontinalis Levy, 1985
Episinus israeliensis Levy, 1985
Euryopis hebraea Levy and Amitai, 1981
Simitidion agaricographum (Levy and Amitai, 1982)
Steatoda trianguloides Levy, 1991
Steatoda xerophila Levy and Amitai, 1982
Theridion accoense Levy, 1985
Theridion dafnense Levy and Amitai, 1982
Theridion gekkonicum Levy and Amitai, 1982
Theridion hermonense Levy, 1991
Theridion hierichonticum Levy and Amitai, 1982
Theridion jordanense Levy and Amitai, 1982
Theridion negebense Levy and Amitai, 1982
Theridion ochreolum Levy and Amitai, 1982
Theridion vallisalinarum Levy and Amitai, 1982
Theridion vespertinum Levy, 1985
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Theridion zekharya Levy, 2007
Family Thomisidae
Monaeses israeliensis Levy, 1973
Ozyptila judaea Levy, 1975
Ozyptila omega Levy, 1975
Ozyptila patellibidens Levy, 1999
Ozyptila sedotmikha Levy, 2007
Tmarus hazevensis Levy, 1973
Tmarus yerohamus Levy, 1973
Xysticus altitudinis Levy, 1976
Xysticus caperatoides Levy, 1976
Xysticus sansan Levy, 2007
Xysticus sinaiticus Levy, 1999
Family Zodariidae
Palaestina eremica Levy, 1992
Pax Levy, 1990
Pax engediensis Levy, 1990
Pax palmonii Levy, 1990
Zodarion geshur Levy, 2007
Zodarion judaeorum Levy, 1992
Zodarion odem Levy, 2007
Family Zoridae
Israzorides Levy, 2003
Israzorides judaeus Levy, 2003
Family Zoropsidae
Zoropsis thaleri Levy, 2007
In Honor of Dr. Gershom Levy
Publications
B. Condé and M. Nguyen Duy: Pénicillates d’Israel rassemblés par G. Levy. Bulletin du Muséum
National d’Histoire Naturelle (2e sér) 42 (6): 1251–1258, 1970 (1971) (Diplopoda).
Y. Lubin (Guest co-editor): Spiders of Israel: Systematics, Ecology, and Behavior. Festschrift issue. Israel Journal of Zoology 44 (2): 93–251, 1998.
Named species
Solifuga: Galeodes levyi Harvey, 2002
Scorpion: Androctonus amoreuxi levyi Fet, 1997
Spider: Phlegra levyi Proszynski, 1998
Spider: Enoplognatha gershomi Bosmans and Van Keer, 1999
Spider: Aelurillus gershomi Proszynski, 2000
Spider: Agelescape levyi Guseinov, Marusik and Koponen, 2005
Spider: Gamasomorpha gershomi Saaristo, 2006 (published 2007)
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Publications of Dr. Gershom Levy
1962 Observations on mating in a Solifugid Galeodes sulfuripes Roewer. Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel 11 B (3): 156–159 (with P. Amitai and A. Shulov).
1963 Solifugae, their biology and ecology. Teva Va’aretz 5 (4): 158–163. [in Hebrew]
1963 A key to the identification of the Solifugae of Israel. Teva Va’aretz 5: 1–23. [in Hebrew]
1964 The Solifugae of Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 13 (3): 102–120 (with A. Shulov).
1965 Laboratory Guide for General Entomology. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Entomology. 80 pp. 95 figs. (with A. Finger). [in Hebrew]
1967 Un nouveau Solifuge (Galeodidae) d’Israel: Othoes rimmonensis. Bulletin du Museum
National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (2 sér.) 39 (3): 515–521 (with J.B. Panouse and A.
Shulov).
1969 The biology and colour change in Thomisus onustus and the systematics of the Thomisidae (Araneae) of Israel. Ph.D. Thesis, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem. 200 pp. [in
Hebrew]
1970 The life cycle of Thomisus onustus (Thomisidae, Araneae) and outlines for the classification of the life histories of spiders. Journal of Zoology, London 160 (4): 523–536.
1970 Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus (Birula, 1908) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) and its systematic
position. Israel Journal of Zoology 19 (4): 231–242 (with P. Amitai and A. Shulov).
1973 New Scorpions from Israel, Jordan and Arabia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society,
London 52 (2): 113–140 (with P. Amitai and A. Shulov).
1973 Crab-spiders of six genera from Israel (Araneae: Thomisidae). Israel Journal of Zoology
22 (2–4): 107–141.
1975 The spider genera Synaema and Oxyptila in Israel (Araneae: Thomisidae). Israel Journal
of Zoology 24 (3–4): 155–175.
1976 The spider genus Xysticus (Araneae: Thomisidae) in Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 25
(1): 1–37.
1977 The philodromid spiders of Israel (Araneae: Philodromidae). Israel Journal of Zoology 26
(3–4):193–229.
1978 Systematics and biology of Buthinae (Arachnida: Scorpiones). (with A. Shulov). In: S.
Bettini, ed., Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology; Arthropod Venoms 48: 309–312.
Springer Verlag, Berlin and New York.
1979 The spider genus Crustulina (Araneae: Theridiidae) in Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 28
(2–3):114–130 (with P. Amitai).
1980 Scorpiones. Monograph in: Fauna Palaestina (Arachnida I). VI+134 pp. (with P. Amitai).
Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
1981 Spiders of the genera Euryopis and Dipoena (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Israel. Bulletin
of the British Arachnological Society 5 (4): 177–188 (with P. Amitai).
1981 The spider genus Enoplognatha (Araneae: Theridiidae) in Israel. Zoological Journal of the
Linnean Society, London 72: 43–67 (with P. Amitai).
1982 The comb-footed spider genera Theridion, Achaearanea and Anelosimus of Israel (Araneae: Theridiidae). Journal of Zoology, London 196: 81–13 (with P. Amitai).
1982 The cobweb spider genus Steatoda (Araneae: Theridiidae) of Israel and Sinai. Zoologica
Scripta, Oslo and Stockholm 11 (1): 13–30 (with P. Amitai).
1983 Revision of the widow-spider genus Latrodectus (Araneae: Theridiidae) in Israel. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, London 77: 39–63 (with P. Amitai).
1984 The spider genera Singa and Hypsosinga (Araneae: Araneidae) in Israel. Zoologica
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Scripta, Oslo and Stockholm 13 (2):121–133.
1985 Terrestrial Invertebrates. In: Encyclopedia of Plants and Animals of the Land of Israel
2, 175 pp. 225 color Illustrations, (Editor of Book and author of Arachnid and Myriapod
chapters). Society for Protection of Nature, Israel and Ministry of Defence Publishing
House. [in Hebrew]
1985 Araneae: Thomisidae. Monograph in: Fauna Palaestina (Arachnida II). VI+114 pp. Israel
Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
1985 Spiders of the genera Episinus, Argyrodes and Coscinida from Israel, with additional notes
on Theridion (Araneae: Theridiidae). Journal of Zoology, London 207: 87–123.
1986 Spiders of the genera Siwa, Larinia, Lipocrea and Drexelia (Araneae: Araneidae) from
Israel. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 7 (1): 1–10.
1987 Spiders of the genera Araniella, Zygiella, Zilla and Mangora (Araneae: Araneidae) from
Israel, with notes on Metellina species from Lebanon. Zoologica Scripta, Oslo and Stockholm 16 (3): 243–257.
1989 The family of huntsman spiders in Israel with annotations on species of the Middle East
(Araneae: Sparassidae). Journal of Zoology, London 217:127–176.
1990 On the cribellate spider Zoropsis lutea in Israel (Araneae: Zoropsidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 8 (5): 139–143.
1990 Spiders of the genus Lachesana and a new storenoid genus from Israel (Araneae: Zodariidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, London 98: 327–362.
1991 On some new and uncommon spiders from Israel (Araneae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 8 (7): 227–232.
1992 The spider genera Palestina, Trygetus, Zodarion, and Ranops (Araneae, Zodariidae) in
Israel with annotations on species of the Middle East. Israel Journal of Zoology 38 (2):
67–110.
1993 On the unknown male of Nonianus pictus and the female of Cerbalus negebensis (Araneae: Sparassidae) from Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 39 (3): 231–234.
1994 A review of the ground spider genus Synaphosus (Araneae: Gnaphosidae). American Museum Novitates, No. 3095, 27 pp. (with V.I. Ovtsharenko and N.I. Platnick).
1995 Revision of the spider subfamily Gnaphosinae in Israel (Araneae: Gnaphosidae). Journal
of Natural History, London 29: 919–981.
1996 The agelenid funnel-weaver family and the spider genus Cedicus in Israel (Araneae, Agelenidae and Cybaeidae). Zoologica Scripta, Oslo and Stockholm 25 (2): 85–122.
1998 Twelve genera of orb-weaver spiders (Araneae: Araneidae) from Israel. Israel Journal of
Zoology 43 (4): 311–365 (1997).
1998 Araneae: Theridiidae. Monograph in: Fauna Palaestina (Arachnida III). 226 pp. Israel
Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
1998 The ground-spider genera Setaphis, Trachyzelotes, Zelotes, and Drassyllus (Araneae:
Gnaphosidae) in Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 44 (2): 93–158.
1999 The lynx and nursery-web spider families in Israel (Araneae, Oxyopidae and Pisauridae).
Zoosystema (Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris) 21 (1): 29–64.
1999 Spiders of the genera Anagraphis and Talanites (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) from Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 45(1): 215–225.
1999 New thomisid and philodromid spiders (Araneae) from southern Israel. Bulletin of the
British Arachnological Society 11 ( 5): 185–190.
1999 Spiders of six uncommon drassodine genera (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) from Israel. Israel
Journal of Zoology 45 (4): 427–452.
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2001 First record for the genus Mesobuthus Vachon, 1950 in Israel: Mesobuthus nigrocinctus
(Ehrenberg, 1828), n. comb. (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Mt. Hermon. Israel Journal of
Zoology 46 (4): 287–295, 2000. (with V. Fet, B.E. Hendrixson, and W.D. Sissom).
2002 Spiders of the genera Micaria and Aphantaulax (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) from Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 48 (2): 111–134.
2003 Spiders of the families Anyphaenidae, Hahniidae, Ctenidae, Zoridae and Hersiliidae (Araneae) from Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 49 (1): 1–39.
2004 Spiders of the genera Drassodes and Haplodrassus (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) from Israel.
Israel Journal of Zoology 50 (1): 1–37.
2007 The first troglobite scorpion from Israel and a new chactoid family (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Zoology in the Middle East 40: 91–96.
2007 Calommata (Atypidae) and new spider species (Araneae) from Israel. Zootaxa 1551:
1–30.
2009 New ground-spider genera and species with annexed checklist of the Gnaphosidae (Araneae) of Israel. Zootaxa 2066:1–49.